The Legend of Korra: The World that Was
by TimeLordBud
Summary: On an exploration trip to find the Cave of Two Lovers, three kids discover the remnants of a long lost and long forgotten civilization, and unknowingly set in motion the awakening of a deadly secret that predates even the first Avatar!
1. Chapter 1: The world that was

**The Legend of Korra: The World that Was.**

"_**Some things should just stay buried…"**_

**Kolau Mountains**

"Are you sure we're in the right place Bumi?" 12 Year old Tazon asked as she tried to swing her right foot on to the rocky ledge to lift herself over. She soon felt four hands grab a hold of her shoulders and hoist her up onto the surface of the rocky terrain. She soon felt herself dropped on her butt to the dusty ground.

"C'mon Tazon!," Bumi said with his trademark smirk" We are almost there!"

"I still don't see why I needed to come…"Tazon pouted as she stood up to dust off her dark red tunic.

"If I know Bumi …And I know Bumi, It's because we will need a Fire Bender when we reach the tunnels." Said the Earth Bender of the group, 13 year old Gabo .

"Gabo knows the plan!" 13 year old Bumi said as he took in the breathtaking view of the Kolau mountain peaks. From all around there was nothing but Stone Mountain tops that could be seen for miles on end. But one in one of these mountain ranges hid what the young explorers were looking for.

"I thought the Cave of Two Lovers was sealed years ago, by MY people no doubt!" Tazon a fire nation girl with Jet black hair tied in a small ponytail with a gold ribbon said as Bumi led the party deep into the mountains. "

"It was Tazon!," Bumi leered "And we're going to unseal it!"

"Wow ! Wish MY dad was the Avatar!" Gabo joked "I'd take over Ba Sing Se!"

Bumi looked back at Gabo and glared at him, and in that instant Gabo knew that one hit below the belt. It wasn't easy growing up as the son of the Avatar, Imagine being the NON-Bender son of the Avatar. You didn't have to tell Bumi how bad it looked that the son of the Avatar wasn't a bender, even worse you couldn't convince the boy that it wasn't a bad thing. No matter how bad his mother, Katara tried to reach him Bumi still remained a headstrong and rambunctious child. He always charged headlong into things, never thinking it through and he always felt like he had something to prove. No matter how much his father, Avatar Aang tried to be patient with him, it was still a source of tension between the two.

It was the same drive to be brave that fueled today's expedition to find the the legendary Cave of Two Lovers. Avatar Aang had some important Avatar bisnuess to conduct in Omashu. On a whim Aang thought it would be nice to take the family for a visit to one of the places where he, Katara, and Sokka traveled when they were kids and trying to end the hundred year war. Bumi had hooked up with his friends who lived in Omashu Gabo and Tazon and pressed them to make this journey.

Bumi read the scribbled map he "acquired" from Omashu's hall of records and saw they were on the right path to head to the North side of the entrance. The path they took led the kids deeper and deeper into the forest of rock formations. With each twist and turn the path seemed to turn into a maze of sorts. Tazon looked up and felt as if they were being watched but all she could see were the tall rock formations.

"B-Bumi" She gulped" Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

"For the hundredth time!, Yes Tazon!" Bumi said rolling his eyes" Relax Hotman!"

Gabo looked back at the young girl fidgeting with her fingers and made a mental note to keep a close eye on her once they got to the caves. Tazon could cut and joke with the best of them but at her core she was very level headed and worried very easily. He could tell from her body language that this place was starting to spook her.

They turned yet another corner in the stone labyrinth and Bumi finally laid eyes on what he was looking for. He grinned as before him he saw a square monolith of a large doorway and within it were rocks of a collapsed sealing it in. Above it were the worn remains of a sign that was too ineligible to read.

"What did I tell you!?" He howled as he ran up and patted the rocks "This is it!, The entrance!"

"Ok Gabo! Do your thing!" Bumi ordered

Gabo walked up to the entrance and examined the blockage, unlike other Earthbenders who sought to meet challenges head on, Gabon like to examine a situation like a puzzle. Gabon was a firm believer in cause and effect, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. He continued to gaze at the entrance until at last a strategy presented itself. Gabo took a stance and focused his breathing. With two mighty stomps and a forceful wave downward of his hands the forced the ground underneath the formation to fall under several feet causing the rock blockage fall through feeing up the entrance, A rush of stale air flew out and hit the kids in the face.

"Let's go!" Bumi said as he led his cadre inside.

The caverns were dark and hollow, the air inside was chilled as the air they breathed was stale and musty. The further they ventured through every twist and every turn they pushed deeper and deeper into the mountain. When the outside light no longer sustained them Bumi nudged Tazon her cue. The fire bender nodded as she took a deep breath and opened both her palms as a bright open flame danced from each of her hands illuminated the explorers' path.

"So why were you parents here?" Tazon asked Bumi.

Bumi ran his hand along the edge of the cavern wall as he relayed the story "When my dad was 12 he needed an earthbending teacher, So he and my mom and my Uncle Sokka went to Omashu to have King Bumi teach him Earthbending, The Fire Nation had chased them into the Cave of Two Lovers but fearing the curse they didn't follow but sealed them in. Thanks to the Badger moles they found a way out."

"That's who I want to see" Gabo said with a glint in his eye" Badgermoles!"

"But you have a map right?" Tazon asked with a slight huff to her voice

Bumi looked behind to see the beads of sweat forming on Tazon's forehead, "Yeah, Relax Tazon!,I have map to whole underground!"

The trio walked for what seemed like hours, during their third break Bumi took out the map and motioned for Tazon to give him some reading light. She lit her palm with a sarcastic growl as he attempted to gain his bearings.

"We're lost, right…" Tazon said flatly.

Bumi paused before answering. "…No, I am pretty sure I know where we need to be. "

"BUMI!" Tazon Chided "My dad is gonna blow a gasket if I'm not there to close the store!"

"Tazon relax," Gabo said as he placed a soothing hand on her back "Let's keep a cool head, If we can't find an exit I'll make an exit!"

Tazon smiled a little at that statement, Gabo always knew the right things to say to cool her temper.

"Ok we need to head north and look for this hook shaped corner and then head east."Bumi said "The Tomb room should be just ahead…"

They gathered their supplies and followed Bumi as they turned the corner Gabo punched the cavern wall and popped a notch out. It was a marker as he had a nasty suspicion they might be going in circles.

An hour later, and more of the same twisting cavern did Gabo finally speak out.

"Bumi wait!" Gabo called out

Bumi stopped "Gabo, c'mon! We're almost there! We can make it!"

"No Bumi , you have to listen to me!, " He pointed to the notch in the wall" You see this notch ! I made this an hour ago! We are going in circles! Something is deliberately trying to get us lost!"

"You're crazy Gabo! ,What do you think the Badgermoles are moving the walls to confuse us!?"

"Both of you shut up!" Tazon yelled as fire erupted from her mouth

Silence soon filled the cavern as a scratching sound could be heard coming closer and closer, the three friends huddled together, as they could hear something crawling against the walls approaching them .

"What's that?" Tazon asked in a hushed whisper

Then from the darkness, six wolfbats from the darkness and swarmed all around the kids. They screamed as Bumi pulled his club from his back and began to swing wildly as Tazon began to shoot fire blasts in every direction. Gabo quickly used his earthbending to raise some defensive barriers around them to keep the wolfbats at bay.

"Stick together!" Bumi yelled, as the three kids stood back to back, as the wolfbats were clawing at them.

Gabo raised another earth barrier and then suddenly started to feel the earth beneath their feet give way. Before they knew it, the three friends found themselves falling down a deeps chasm. They screamed as they fell and tumbled against each other. Finally they fell against a flat thin surface, they all coughed as their throat and lungs were covered in dust and dirt.

Bumi coughed as he struggled to get his words out "I-is everyone ok?"

"I think so" Tazon whimpered

"I'll live.." Gabo said

Bumi was face down on the flat surface, he was pretty sure someone's knee was on his back, and his foot was on someone's face.

"Gabo, Tazon!" Bumi called out "I think this is a door or a panel I can wedge open, Can one of you reach into my pocket and get my pocket knife?"

"I think I can!" Tazon said as she reached with her free hand.

She stretched her hand out until she grabbed something soft and squishy.

Bumi yelped" AHH! That's not my pocket Tazon!"

"Sorry!"Tazon blushed.

Tazon finally retrieved his knife and handed it to Bumi. Bumi unfolded it with his teeth and jabbed the edge of the crack with the blade, from the other side of the panel he could make out a dim light. Whatever it was, it was something worth checking out. He pried the opening a little more and pressed his hand against the panel and suddenly the panel gave way. All three soon fell on to a hard surface with a hard thud.

"Ow," Tazon coughed as she and Bumi and Gabo dusted themselves off.

"Where are we?"Bumi said as he loked around at their new surroundings.

They were in a hallway of sorts, on one end it was sealed off by solid rock embedded with glowing blue crystal fragments embedded in, this explained the faint light Bumi saw through the panel. But the hallway itself was a different story. It was comprised of a material he had never seen before; if he could name a material close to it he would pick Pearl. But it wasn't like Pearl, far from it. It was white, but a dingy white. He could make out cracks in it, and on the wall which were also white as well.

Tazon and Gabo stood up and looked around the strange white hallway. They touched the walls as Tazon lit a light wither hand and they could see the hallway stretched a bit further down the way.

"Ok," Tazon said "Now im creeped out"

"C'mon,"Bumi said as he held his boomerang club "We're here let's see what's down here"

Gabo stopped Bumi by placing a hand on his shoulder "First sign of trouble we get out of here, ok?"

Bumi nodded silently as the trio walked down the long slender hallway.

The hallway itself was darkened lit up only by the light of Tazon's fire. On either side there were blackened windows where nothing could be seeded no matter how hard Bumi pressed him face against the glass. Ash and dust covered the white floors, occasionally they would see scraps of blue or green cloths littered about. Gabo winced as his foot stepped on something hard and pointy. He picked it up to see it was a faded piece of metal. It was flat and the best way he could describe it was half a wing attached to what looked like an umbrella. It was dirty and rusted; he quickly discarded it without a second thought.

"What do you make of this place Gabo?" Bumi asked

"I'm not sure, "It could be an old Earth Kingdom bunker, but it's of no Earth Kingdom design I have ever seen. Tazon do you think this could be Fire Nation?" Gabo asked.

"No way, it's far too underground. Firebenders need to be close to the surface, to the sun to be fully effective. Even the architecture is nowhere near Fire Nation design."

"Look!" Bumi pointed as they saw the hallway had finally come to an end.

Before them was a set of double doors that were wedged slightly open. Bumi ran to it and grabbed on to the edge of the door, he saw it had some give to it.

"Gabo!" He grunted "Help me out here!"

Gabo trotted up and gritted his teeth he put his back against the door frame and his foot on the edge of the door. He used his leg strength to help Bumi pry the door wide enough for them to get through. With a loud crack, the door gave way and slid open. Bumi and Gabo caught their breath as Tazon peered inside the dark room. Instantly a feeling of dread filled her.

"Guys, I'm scared, "She said with a tremor in her voice, "I think evil spirits live here"

"Then I'll be careful not to wake them!" Bumi said as he wrapped a rag around the handle of his club and lit it with Tazon's fire. He walked into the room that was filled with a layer of low lying dust and cobwebs. This room was very different from the hallway as it was very huge. They looked up and could not see a celling through the darkness. Bumi knelt on one knee and felt the texture of the floor; it wasn't a hard like the hallway floor. No this was a different texture, course yet soft.

"The floor in here is different " He reported "Whatever it is it's all over the place, Guys, I think we are in a tomb of some sorts."

"A tomb?" Gabo said looking around "This is one weird looking tomb."

Gabo's suspicions were on the right path when he went a bit further into the large room and came across several structures in the large floor of the main area, they were square and placed neatly beside each other in rows of three. All of them had a thick dust gathered on them and various discarded papers on them and the floors around them. Gabo picked up on and saw a language on it he had never seen before or even recognized.

Tazon quickly latched on to Bumi's arm she didn't like this place at all and didn't want to be by herself for one second ,She saw Gabo explore the floor ahead of them while Bumi was checking out the elevated area that overlooked the larger floors area

"Bumi, can we please go?" Tazom pleaded"

"C'mon Tazon, It's just a little while longer! " Bumi said" At least till we figure out who's buried here!"

"No! Bumi! I hate this place it's creepy! I'm scared ok?" Tazon said

Little did any of them know that they were being watch, something high on the wall woke up when it sensed the movement of humans, something it hadn't noticed in a very long time. Even if it was a long time, it still had a job to do whenever it noticed the movement of human action.

Gabo listened to Bumi and Tazon argue when without warning all three kids were blinded by a bright light. First one light came on, then two, then three, then four. They cried out as they shielded their eyes from the bright lights, lights so bright it shone through their eyelids and burned to their brain.

As the blur faded from their eyes and they adjusted to the new lights, the nature of their environment became clear to them. They knew they weren't in a tomb, but they had no explanation for where they were now.

"What is this place?" Tazon asked as she and Bumi looked at their surroundings.

They saw that the neatly aligned structures were actually desks with various boxes and papers strewn about on them , at the far wall were 6 or 7 window all centered around one massive window that were all the color grey. The lights were attached from the ceiling were as bright as the sun, yet there was no way any light could be here this far under the earth.

"Bumi, Look!" Tazon said tugging Bumi's sleeve

Bumi and Gabo looked to see what had caught Tazon's attention.

On the wall behind them was a large picture of sorts, Like the symbols of the various nations this one was different. On It was a shape like a blue shield and on the blue shield was the round shape of the Earth, yet on the earth was a country none of them had recognized. From the globe two white wing stretched out and folded over the globe as if it were protecting it, and the last piece on it was a sword with a red handle over the earth. Below it was a yellow ribbon and on it was a language none of them could read. Still Bumi was determined to copy down the last part of the symbols as best he could. He took one of the stray sheets of paper and grabbed a stick of charcoal from his pocket and wrote down the words that were underneath the seal.

** N…O…..R…..A….D**

Suddenly they felt a slight tremble underneath their feet, both Bumi and Tazon looked to Gabo. The Earthbender looked around to see what he felt and where he felt it from.

"I don't know if that was a bad tremble or a good tremble." he chuckled nervously

Then all of them head a voice boom from overhead, it was loud but gentle. A Female voice who spoke in a language neither had ever heard of.

"**Emergency power restored**…."

"**Alternate command operations center online."**

At that point the room began to come alive, the windows that were affixed to the walls came alive with various lights and words and pictures. The three held on to each other as neither had any idea what was happening. Fear began to rise into each of them as they could hear voices from all around . Then Tazon saw something move down from the ceiling it was a round sphere attached to a metal rod. In the middle of the sphere was a red eye. It began to shine a red light over Bumi , and then Gabo and finally Tazon. For Tazon sadly, this was the final straw as she went into full panic mode.

She screamed as she leapt over the railing, firing a fireball at the sphere with her foot and landing on the floor. She began to fire wildly and anything and everything around her setting fire to the desks and the papers.

"Bumi!" Gabo yelled as he saw Bumi rush to Tazon.

"Tazon! Wait you have to calm down!" Bumi cried trying to avoid the flames.

Tazon couldn't be reached and she cried while send flames into every direction. The boys tried to reach her desperately, they were so focused they didn't realized the voice spoke again.

"**Fire detected in Command Operations Center, Activating Halon system now"**

From the ceiling a white gassy fog fell and soon filled the entire room. Bumi and Gabo began to cough as the white fog got in their eyes and mouth. The Fog quickly enveloped Tazon and the young firebender soon found herself robbed of her firebending. She began to cough as her head began to swim and her vision blurred.

"C-can't b-breath…"She swooned

The last thing Tazon saw before she blacked out was Bumi reaching for her.

**NEXT TIME: The secrets of the tomb are slowly deciphered as a young Hiroshi Sato makes a connection that will have lasting effects on Republic City.**

**A/N: Hello all, This is my first Korra story. I normally write Transformer fan fiction but my creative energies have "shifted" these past few weeks. I have had this idea for a while and I feel I am ready to fan it out. I hope you find it an enjoyable read. If you have any questions about it feel free to shoot me a PM. ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2: Small Sacrifices

**The World that Was **

**Chapter 2 – Small Sacrifices**

_**"Nothing is outlawed when my son is concerned."**_

Bumi struggled under the weight of his body to crawl as the thick fog continued to fall all around him. His eyes, nose and throat burned from the mysterious fog as a loud claxon filled the air. He struggled to focus his gaze on the limp form of Tazon as she lay before him. He would never forgive himself if he lost her this way. She originally didn't want to come, but came because his visits to Omasu were few and far between.

Bumi had no plan how to get his friends out of his predictiment or even how to get out from this fog that was chocking the life out of them. His head started to get light as his vision started to grow darker. He started to see visions of his mother from when he was younger. Her warm smile and her big blue eyes, how they would calm him whenever he was sad or angry. He wished more than anything that he could see them one more time. He then thought his younger sister, Kya, Mom's little Waterbender. She could be as wild and rambunctious as Bumi but turn as serious and responsible in a heartbeat. As much as it would annoy Bumi whenever she would follow him around he would want nothing more than to sit by the river bed with her and skip stones across the edge of the water with her.

Bumi's thoughts then turned to his new baby brother Tenzin, so tiny and fragile and so full of potential. Bumi was regretful that he would not be there to see his brother grow up into a young man and even then find out if he would be a bender or not. In his heart Bumi hoped Tenzin would be an Airbender, for his father's peace of mind. Bumi loved his father and his pained him he wasn't an Airbender and could not carry on the Airbender legacy. He knew the burden being the last Airbender weighed on his Father's heart and more than anything Bumi wanted to shoulder that burden like any son should. Bumi was the first born but always felt like a stranger in his father's eyes. Every hug felt like a chore, every word , every exchange a distant echo.

Bumi understood his father was the Avatar, and his father had duties to the world. He just wished now in these seconds before the darkness enveloped him that Bumi made more of an effort to reach out to his Father. To make him proud, to be a better son, to do his part to make the world safer.

"Mom, Dad, I want to go home..." Bumi thought as he finally blacked out.

The three children laid on the floor motionless as the thick white fog continue to fall, then from the same hall way they entered coming in like a storm from the eastern seas, came riding in on an air scooter Avatar Aang already in the Avatar State.

Immediately as his feet touched the floor and in one turn he let loose a massive gust of wind that cleared the entire room of the fog. The glow left his eyes and his arrow as he looked and saw the children on the floor.

"Toph! Sokka! I found them! They're in here!" He called out.

Aang knelt and felt the mouths of his son, Gabo, and Tazon. He tried to feel any sign of them breathing any at all but he felt none.

"No!…" He gasped

From the entrance of the room emerged Toph and Sokka. As soon as Toph entered the room she could feel from the muffled vibrations from the floor that they were too late.

"No oh no…" She said as she held her hand to her mouth.

Sokka knelt by the bodies and tried his best to wake them. "C'mon kids!, Don't do this! You guys are strong, you can survive this!"

Sokka saw the kids' skin were an ashen grey, their bodies lifeless. He then looked around to their environment and saw where they were. It was no place he had ever seen in his entire life. Lights brighter than any he had ever seen, windows with moving pictures and lights. Mysterious voices speaking in voices he had never heard.

"Aang? What happened to them? What is this place? "Sokka asked

"I-I Don't know" Aang said still shocked. "When I arrived there was this white fog and then-

"N-No! BUMI!" a shrill voice cut through the air.

They looked up to see a distraught Katara in the entrance.

Aang's heart dropped when he saw his wife standing in the doorway clutching onto the frame, her mouth hung open in shock, her blue eyes now beginning to brim with hot tears. Toph could feel Katara's breathing and heartbeat rise sharply as she stood behind her. Aang had wanted Katara to stay behind as he Toph and Sokka braved the caves to search for the children, but somehow, she joined the second search party. She knew how her husband and brother worked during an emergency and she was determined to find her son.

Now she saw her first son, her baby, lifeless and laying on the floor. Part of her lay on the floor dying as well, she held a hand to her mouth as she felt sick to her very core. Aang rushed to hold his wife as she began to sob uncontrollably. She couldn't believe that her first child was gone.

"D-did you do everything you could?" Katara barley got out

"Katara" Aang said sadly "They were already gone when we got here"

"Then you didn't do everything…"She said coldly as she pushed off her husband

Aang, Sokka and Toph all watched as Katara walked to the middle of the three children and knelt to the still Bumi. Tears fell down her cheeks as she stifled a sob and gently stroked his face. She looked at the bodies of the three and knew the extreme measure she had to take. She stood up and outstretched her arms in an all too familiar stance.

"Katara!" Aang said in a raised voice as part of him wanted to stop her and part of him didn't.

Katara didn't listen as she took a deep breath; she tapped into a secret and dark art of waterbendering. It was an ability to seize the water that resides insides the blood of a human body, the art known as Bloodbending. Originally taught to Katara by a Waterbender called Hama, Katara sought to outlaw the practice of it in the founding of Republic City. It was an ability that caused great pain on whoever the technique was being applied to. The technique did have some merits to it, but they were minor compared to it's many negative traits.

Katara's arms stiffened as her veins popped up, the bodies of the children likewise stiffened and like little puppets began to tremble and move. They moved onto their backs as their eyes began to flutter. Katara began to move her fingers and manipulate them like a puppeteer. She concentrated and reached each of them. She focused on moving their hearts.

*bu-bump*

*bu-bump*

*bu-bump*

*bu-bump*

Gradually she restored the blood flow in their hearts. She could feel their heartbeat restored with heat beat. Katara then gently stimulated their lungs and with a sudden gasp all three children awoke with choking gasp.

Katara released her hold as she heard them return to life. Bumi held his sides as his entire body ached. Katara knelt and held his head gently. Tears of relief fell down her face as she felt the warmth of her son again.

"M-mom.." He groaned.

"Don't say anything…" Katara said "just stay still, we're taking you home."

Aang breathed a silent sighed of relief as Sokka and Toph checked on Gabo and Tazon.

"Katara that was crazy and stupid, "Sokka chided "and brilliant."

"But we can't ever tell anyone you did that" Toph added "Not if you still want it outlawed."

"I understand " Katara said " But nothing is outlawed when my son is concerned."

Aang's heart was glad his son was ok, and now he could focus on what almost killed his son and his friends. He walked to the far end of the rooms where what looked like windows of many sizes big and small were showing various moving pictures, words, symbols and letters. He could hear various voices coming from different places but what interested Aang the most was in the upper centers of the windows. It was a round shaped sphere built into the wall. And in the middle of it was a bright red light. Aang could feel as if the light was looking at him, observing him silently, and unbeknownst to Aang, he was right.

"Who are you?" He asked?" Why did you attack my son and his friends?"

The eye of the Artificial Intelligence system that ran NORAD looked at Aang and analyzed him. Most of it's systems were still down, it would take time before it would be completely operational. For now all it could do was observe and record for later analyzation.

"What do you think this place is?" Sokka asked Aang?

"I'm not sure" Aang said "Looks like some kind of hidden base, but it doesn't like from any of the nations "

"I do know one thing." Sokka said as he pointed at the center window "That map doesn't look anything like our world!"

Aang looked at the global map on the far left; it wasn't of the normal map showing the Four Nations. This was a far different map showing the world broken up into seven different continents. Where the Northern Water Tribe was broken up into several smaller land masses, where the Southern Water tribe was one massive continent. Where the Fire Nation was supposed to be was two large continents joined by a single strait of land. Where the Earth Kingdom should be was one massive continent, and there were several stray lands which could be considered Air Nomad lands.

"That is interesting." Aang pondered.

"I think we should study this place some more." Sokka said

"After this place almost killed my son and his friends?" Aang said in a shocked tone.

"Look I know it looks bad, But this could be a major archeological find, " Sokka explained " I think this might be a lost civilization. We could learn something from it, something that could benefit Republic City."

Aang looked back at Katara and Toph tending to the kids. "Ok, choose a small team and tell no one, and you have to promise me when you are done you will seal this place. I think whatever is here could still be dangerous."

Sokka nodded "Ok."

They both didn't know it but their conversation was being recorded by the computer, and it was going to have to decipher what language they were speaking, but first it had to contact the other United States military commands, which others had managed to survive.

**The following evening…..**

The return to Air Temple Island was uneventful. Bumi left without saying anything to Gabo and Tazon, not that Bumi was sure that Gabo wanted to say anything to him and he briefly heard that Tazon fell into a traumatic shock soon after reaching the surface. Bumi himself suffered some minor injuries, but his pride was hurt more. He lay in bed all day taking meals brought to him by Katara.

Aang sat at the table in the dining area of their house and was busy reading some scrolls when he was approached by his wife. He didn't even notice her walk up with Tenzin in her arms until she was behind him.

"Aang, you need to go talk with Bumi." She told him.

"What?" He said not looking up from his scrolls

"Eyes up here mister," She said placing a hand on his scroll "He feels awful about yesterday."

"Katara, He took off with his friends into that mountain and almost got them killed into that death trap, and you broke own rule of bloodbending to save them!" He said callously.

Katara narrowed her eyes at him; a clear indication that line was a low blow.

"Ok, that was wrong of me, I'm sorry" He apologized.

"Do you know why he went on that expedition?" Katara quizzed her husband "He wanted to find the Cave of Two Lovers!"

The sound of that name instantly brought back a flood of memories for Aang, Memories of a first kiss with Katara.

"W-Why did he want to go there?" Aang asked

"He wanted to bring us back a crystal, for an anniversary gift." Katara said as she sat down to nurse Tenzin.

Aang rubbed his temples as he stood up and walked to his son's room, He opened the door to see Kya already asleep as the foot of Bumi's bed. She had kept a vigil by his side ever since they got home. Aang picked up his daughter and placed her on the guest bed in the room. He took a seat on the bed by Bumi. Bumi stirred awake and looked to see his dad sitting by him.

"D-Dad?" he said half awake

"How are you feeling?" Aang smiled

"I'm doing better, " Bumi said.

"Look Bumi, you had a lot of us scared there."

Bumi looked ashamed " I-I know dad, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, what matters the most is you're ok, you're my son and I love you very much." Aang said with a smile.

"I love you too Dad"Bumi smiled.

"Your mom says you were looking for the Cave of two lovers"

"Y-Yeah, we were so close.." Bumi beamed.

"Ah no you weren't Aang corrected.

"No?" Bumi asked perplexed

"You were way off." Aang said holding out his hands to show his son how far off he was.

"But I had a map…" Bumi said softly and perplexed.

"Your mom told me why you wanted to go there and I think it was very kind of you." Aang smiled "Maybe one day, I'll take you there and show you how off you were." Aang said as he brushed his son's hair with his fingers and kissed him goodnight.

"D-dad?, What about that place we found?, What was it?" Bumi asked

Aang thought carefully his response before he told his son.

"You don't have to worry about that place, Your Uncle Sokka stayed behind in Omashu to seal it up for good." Aang said telling his son a half-truth to hopefully set the boy's mind to ease.

_**Fourteen years passed**_ …

Since Bumi and friends found the mysterious underground base, the world had change in many ways. The founding of United Republic of Nations by Avatar Aang and Zuko while fragile at first had now grown and prospered. The crown jewel of this nation was her capital city, Republic City. It was a sprawling mecca where people from all nations could live together in harmony. Already the world had changed in many ways since Team Aang were kids; many advances had taken the world by storm. From freestanding electricity that yielded light bulbs to replace candlelight, to a network of telegraph lines to send messages over great distances.

Many of Team Aang took on responsibilities to help build Republic City. Toph , who had traveled the world teaching Metalbending to Earthbenders, Started the city's first Police Force. Comprised of both Benders and Non benders, they worked to keep the streets of Republic City safe. Both Aang and Zuko worked together help coordinate the efforts of the other nations to build and regulate the newly formed United Republic of Nations. They were governed itself by a council comprised of a representative of each of the Four Nations. The chairman of this council was Sokka, and in-between times where he had to oversee various municipal meetings and other civic duties. He secretly led a small team comprised of the brightest free thinkers the world had to offer. It was a few times through the year they would go back to the Kolau Mountains just outside of Omashu and venture down to the hidden base discovered by Sokka's nephew Bumi.

Though they never learned who built the base or how old it was, It was rich with technology that they used to help build Republic City and better their world. Through the near 15 years Sokka studied the base he and his think tank were able engineer so many new wonders they did not have when they were young. Wonders as ways to harness and distribute electricity through power lines. The invention of the light bulb that quickly took the place of candles for candlelight, the same use for power lines as gave way to the invention of the telegraph. It provided the means of sending messages over long distances and triple the time it would take if it were sent by a messenger hawk. Even with all the advancements Sokka and his team were able to learn and create the time finally came when he felt that they had learned all they could from the base, and it was finally the time he fulfilled a promise he made to his brother in law.

15 year old Hiroshi Sato quickened his pace as he hustled down the busy streets of Republic City. He was born in the Dragon Flats boroughs of Republic City. He was the oldest of his brothers and sisters, and he grew up in a poor family. Hiroshi worked shining shoes by afternoon and nights and went to school in the mornings. Hiroshi worked hard to help support and feed his family; he was a bright young man with a brilliant mind. Always eager to help his fellow neighbors, Hiroshi never lost hope that he could make a better life for himself and his family. He worked hard in school and despite not being a bender he put his complete effort into everything he did.

He had no ill bearing against people with bending powers, He knew that there were both bad and good people in all groups. He didn't see himself not having a bending ability as a disadvantage, in fact he relished it. He looked up to his hero, Sokka, To remind him that you didn't need bending powers to change the world for the better. Hiroshi save every newspaper clipping of Councilmen Sokka and studied his life extensively. It was no wonder that he jumped at the chance to work alongside him during a fact finding expedition. Hiroshi had been noticed by his teachers for his sharp mind and high intelligence. It was during a chance meeting with one of Sokka's old friends Teo, from the Earth Kingdom, that Hiroshi's name was recommended to Sokka.

Hiroshi ran against the predawn chill as his hot breath clashed with the cold morning air. He ran with his 60 lbs ruck sack bouncing off his lower back. He could see the lights of the Train Station as he turned the corner. Running up the stairs and into the stale lights of the station he looked and saw the gathering of people at the end of the station. His heart skipped as he saw his hero Sokka talking with a couple other men their bags and equipment neatly being loaded on to the storage car of the train.

Hiroshi hustled and stopped panting and trying to catch his breath as the 64 year old Sokka turned to face the teenager Hiroshi, his face beet red from the running.

"Hiroshi," Sokka smiled "So glad you could join us, We almost left without you…"

"S-So sorry sir!" Hiroshi barely got out" But I'm ready to go!"

Sokka blew a slow breath out his nose and smiled softly at the eager young mind, "Go take your gear and check in with my expedition second in command, It's a long train ride to Omashu so you I hope you had your breakfast!"

Hiroshi was immediately put to work helping to load the supplies and equipment. He knew he was here strictly on an intern basis which ment his whole job was to be quiet and do what he was told, and if he could learn something. Which being near Sokka he knew he would have no problem.

The train ride to Omashu was filled with mission briefs and safety lectures, Hiroshi spent his time making and passing tea to the other members of the party and preparing some of the rigging they would be using on the trip.

Hiroshi was busying tying some knots on ropes when he heard someone enter the car he was working in. He looked up to see Sokka walk in and take a seat on a wooden box near him.

"Sir!" Hiroshi said as he tried to stand up as quickly as he could.

"No! No!" Sokka said as he wave his hand "That's ok boy , please sit."

"Looks like you need a hand there, Hiroshi? Is it?" Sokka said as he grabbed a rope.

"I'm ok, my dad taught me all the knots I know." Hiroshi said proudly.

Sokka nodded in approval " Teo tells your teacher have nothing but praise for you."

"I don't know about that sir, I guess I figure stuff out better." Hiroshi said as he grabbed another rope.

"That's a handy skill to have there, "Sokka smiled "It's save my blubber more than a few times. "

On the inside Hiroshi was an explosion of excitement to be sitting near his hero, his idol. The man who at his age orchestrated the Invasion of the Fire Nation and then later that year helped the Avatar end the Hundred Year War. He tried his best to display a cool calm demeanor on the outside.

Then Hiroshi noticed a look of concern fall over the old man's face.

"You're here in an Intern basis," Sokka explained "I want you to help out , do what we say and if you can watch and learn from us."

"But I wanted to talk to you about something else son, because where we are going is some place …secret" Sokka warned." It's hard to explain, but it will all make sense once we arrive."

Hiroshi looked confused "What do mean sir?"

Sokka looked him straight in the eyes, "I just need to know Hiroshi That no matter what happens, what you see won't leave this expedition. "

Hiroshi blinked as he saw the same fierceness in the eyes of Sokka that many of his enemies must have saw who faced him. It was both awe inspiring and terrifying.

"Y-yes sir! "Hiroshi promised "Whatever you say."

Two days later Hiroshi Sato found himself at the mouth of a large mountain. There were seven men including him in the party. Sokka led the way as the party carried torches into the dark musty cave to light the way. Hiroshi looked in awe at the long caverns inside the Kolau Mountains. From his position Hiroshi could hear Sokka talk with his men about explosives and if they thought they had salvage all they could from the base. Despite three of the members of Sokka's party urging him not to close the shaft, Sokka was adamant in his decision to close the mine.

After what seemed like hours into the mountain, finally stopped at concrete door in the middle of a long cavern. An Earthbender stepped forward as he stamped his foot and the stone seal put in place moved and opened the heavy door that covered the opening. Two other ment tied the roped to the wooden frame attached over the hole.

"Ok I want people to head down two at a time, "Sokka ordered " Pazu, You stay up here and guard the opening. "

The Firebender nodded as the rest of Sokka's team took turns putting on their rigging. Two by two men went down the long hole; Hiroshi gulped as he began to be lowered down the dark chasm. As Hiroshi got closer to the light at the end of the hole, he could hear voices growing louder and louder. He had no idea what to expect as he feet dragged along the surface. Soon the exit opened up and Hiroshi saw a white hallway, but it was not one he had ever seen in his life. For one thing it was illuminate with a strange light that seemed brighter than candlelight and lightbulbs. Hiroshi then felt himself pulled off and unhooked from the rope.

"Ok everyone gather around!" Chen ,Sokka's second in command called out " We will break into two teams. Team one will sweep the area for anything we might have missed, and Team two will prepare the explosives, If you find anything or think something might be of interesting let someone know!, above all be careful. "

"Hiroshi, you will stick with Denga, Do what she says and stay by her side" Chen said to Hiroshi as the boy nodded.

Hiroshi followed the team and his eyes and mouth soon hung open as he saw the large room when he emerged from the hallway. It was huge and looked like it was already picked apart. At the far wall Hiroshi could see that something that used to be there that was ripped out as wires hung from the hole. Things were moved aside and various parts littered the floor. Hiroshi felt Denga take his arm and lead him into the other hallways of the inner base.

Denga smiled as she saw the amazed expression on the boy's face. Denga was in her early 30's . She was a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe with a penchant for tinkering. She had joined Sokka's think tank team at the early inception of Republic city. She was part of the team that helped design the cities aqueducts. She had dark skin like a water bender and she wore her brown hair in two thick braids that lay flat by her face. She lit up her torch and led Hiroshi through the half lit up hallway.

"Ok what I want you to do Hiroshi is to help me take an inventory of items that we will be taking back to the surface!" She said in a cheerful tone as she resolved to the face she was stuck with the intern to do her bidding. When he didn't answer he she turned to see the kid still gawking at his surroundings

"You can close your mouth now Hiroshi" Denga smiled

"W-What is this place?" Hiroshi asked

"We don't know for sure, but what we do know is whoever created this place predated the time before the first Avatar, maybe even bending itself!

Hiroshi and Denga moved into the anterior part of the base. She led him to a small room that was the size of a kitchen. From the looks of it, it had already looked scavenged, various panels in the wall were pulled open as exposed and stripped wires were visible. The room itself was a lit up by a stale light that gave the room an almost yellowish pale look.

Denga sat down on one the dusty chairs in the room, that too looked different to Hiroshi as it was a chair but not one he had seen. For one thing it wasn't made of wood at all but metal and a different type of material that wasn't wood nor metal but somewhere in-between. Two dark blue cushions were attached to the back and the seat and as Denga sat on it swiveled and spun her around as Hiroshi saw that tiny wheels were attached to the four legs of the chair.

"Whoever made this place, believe in comfortable seating." Denga joked as she motioned for Hiroshi to sit on one.

Hiroshi smiled as he sat on one and marveled at its comfort, It was a short lived marveled as his chair's back part was broken and gave him no back support as he leaned too far back. He almost stumbled back on the floor before catching his balance. Denga chuckled as she waved her hands and waterbended some water from her pouch. She used the water to cut open the latched of a wall panel. She gripped the panel and tore open it open exposing the machinery underneath.

Help me pull apart these fuses from this panel and I'll explain more about this place."

"Like I said we aren't sure who made this place or why, but it's given us most of our technology that we have developed for use in Republic City and the world. " She explained "Everything we learned and developed came from here. We didn't know what most of it was but it pointed us in directions we never dreamed possible! We made huge strides in the fields of Agriculture, Architecture and Technology, We bettered the quality of life."

Hiroshi listened to Denga as she explained one of Republic City's greatest secrets; it was clear to Hiroshi why Sokka had the talk with him in the first place. A place like this, the knowledge here could be used for great good or great harm. He was glad Sokka took the responsibility for the knowledge of this base.

"How did you all find this place?" Hiroshi asked

"Originally it was Sokka's nephew who accidently found it with some friends almost fifteen years ago " Denga explained " They also were almost killed here, Which is why Sokka promised his brother in law the Avatar that when he was done studying this place he would seal it forever, and that's why we are here today."

"Hey Denga we need your help back here "They heard Chen call out from the hallway " Taun cut his leg pretty badly, We need your healing ability!"

"Continue to pull out and inventory these fuses, I'll be back." Denga said as she got up.

Hiroshi watched her leaved as he went back to her work. He was busy marking down some items when he heard what sounded like a whisper come from the doorway. He heard it again as it sounded more distinct.

"_Hiroshi…." _

Hiroshi walked out into the hallway and followed the voice.

"_Hiroshi….."_

The voice led him to a darkened hallway with a single flickering red light. Fear initially filled the boy but his curiosity was greater. He could see at the middle of the hallway was a room with a faded blue light emanating from it.

"_Hiroshi….."_ The voice called a little louder.

Hiroshi looked into the room to see a small screen emitting the blue light.

"Come closer Hiroshi, I won't hurt you" The screen said as it lit up with each word.

"Who are you?" Hiroshi asked "How do you know my name?"

"I am this base Hiroshi," The voice said, it spoke eloquently, beautiful even. Hiroshi was cautious yet he didn't feel threatened. "I was made by the people who made this base to watch over it and serve them. I was known as a **Central Artificial Intelligent Nanogene Systems**, or as my creators called me **CAIN**."

CAIN then showed Hiroshi moving pictures of men in white suits and masks working on various types of machinery, and then images of stone faced men in green and blue military uniforms.

"Before your world existed, there was my world, and I was tasked to protect it here, this place was called the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD for short, I was woken up fifteen years ago, and ever since I was visited by Sokka and his team to be studied, I studied them." CAIN said as he then showed Hiroshi images of Sokka and his team through the years working on salvaging what they could from the base.

"Have you ever talked to them?" Hiroshi asked.

"No Hiroshi, I have been studying and learning to speak your language for some time now, and I chose you to talk to because in you I see so much promise." CAIN said.

"Me? But why?" Hiroshi asked.

"Because I can show you and teach you so much Hiroshi. So much more than you know now." CAIN said as he then showed Hiroshi images of things he had never seen, Cars, Planes, Helicopters, tanks and other pictures Hiroshi didn't recognize but was fascinated with what they were.

"I know that Sokka plans to seal this place Hiroshi, and when he does I will be alone again." CAIN said. "But if you take me with you I will help you realize your dreams for a better world.

Hiroshi gulped as he remember all the sketches and ideas he wrote in massive binder at home, some were practical ideas but others were farfetched dreams. Ideas that could usher in an new era for his world. He knew an opportunity like would never present itself ever again.

"What do I need to do to help you?" Hiroshi asked.

Then the blue screen went dark as two panels' opened from either side of it. The screen sank down as round robotic sphere rose up from within the wall. It was a big as a medicine ball, but it was metallic and white all over, two handle rested on either side of a glowing red metallic eye in the center of the white sphere.

"This is my mobile form, you will be able to easily carry me in your satchel" CAIN explained. "Just grasp on to those two handles and pull me out from my frame,"

Hiroshi nodded as he gripped on both handles and then pulled the round core from its perch. He pulled it out with ease, and soon held the core in his arms.

CAIN looked at him "Very good Hiroshi, very good.."

Then as if a switch was hit, the entire base began to bask in the glow of red light from all over. A loud warning klaxon filled the base.

"Whoa! What happened?" Hiroshi asked

"I think I failed to mention, that my creators installed a fail-safe in the event that I should ever attempt to leave. "CAIN explained

"What's going on?" Hiroshi shouted.

"As soon as I am disconnected from the main frame the base assumes its under attack and sets in motion the auto destruct sequence. There are precisely 10 tons of explosive built in the undersides of this base and is set to detonate in ten minutes, I really suggest we leave before this entire base is obliterated." CAIN said.

Sokka and Chen looked up from their work to see and hear the alarms going off; red flashed filled the rooms and hallways.

"What's happening?!" Chen shouted and ran into the next room where a majority of the team had assembled.

Sokka then saw a system of numbers that were counting down. The sirens were blaring louder and louder, and he was filled with an intense sense of dread.

"Gather everyone around we need to get out of here now!" Sokka ordered.

Sokka looked around "Where's Hiroshi?"

Denga looked and saw the boy wasn't among the team.

"He was last with me, I'll go get him!" Denga said as she sprinted off.

Denga ran to the room where she left Hiroshi and saw he was missing. Her heart rate sky rocketed as she quickly looked to find the boy.

"HIROSHI! Where are you!?" She screamed "We have to get out of here now!"

Hiroshi looked up at the sound of Denga calling his name and placed CAIN into his side satchel. He ran through the hallway as the bulky bag banged against his leg.

"C'mon! We are leaving!" Denga shouted as she grabbed his hand and led him to the opening of the shaft where Sokka's team had already assembled.

"Hook Hiroshi and Denga to the line first and send them up, we'll go up a few spaces apart!" Sokka ordered.

"The rigging was built to handle that many people at a time it may snap!" Chen argued.

"At this point we don't really have a choice now let's move!" Sokka responded.

Hiroshi was grabbed and hooked to the line, the sense of urgency in the room it was barely noticed that he was carrying something in his satchel. As soon as he was secured, Chen yanked on the line five times which was code for "grave emergency" for Pazu to hoist the line up quickly. Hiroshi felt himself yanked forward as he struggled to gain his footing against the wall of the rocky shaft.

"Go! Go!" he could hear voices behind him, as the opening of the hole began to grow in sight. In his satchel CAIN calmly monitored the timing of the countdown. The base was set to implode in fewer than three minutes now.

Denga was then hooked up to the line and followed a couple dozen meters behind Hiroshi. She gasped as the line jerked her forward. She could hear the frenzied shouts of her team as she ascended the hole. One by one Sokka over saw his men get hooked up to the line and make the climb up one by one. Chen looked back to see Sokka hadn't hooked himself up to the line. The elder Water warrior just looked up and waved good bye to them.

"Sokka! Come on! Climb up! Get out of there!" Chen shouted. But deep down he knew what Sokka knew, that with himself on the line it would create too much tension on the line and it would for sure snap. Right at that moment he made peace with himself and knew he made a difference in this world. He thought back to a journey that began with a fishing expedition with his sister, which ended up finding the last hope for a world devastated by war. At the age of 15 he forged friendships and grew in such a way that the world itself was saved from destruction. He had no regrets in what he knew were the last moments. From all around him he could hear the terrible klaxons ringing from all over the base. From up in the hole Hiroshi made it to the top as Pazu. Grabbed him by his rope harness and pulled him from the hole and tossed him to the ground. Pazu looked down as he could see Denga following close to the top. As Hiroshi fell on the dusty ground, CAIN's internal countdown of the detonation entered the final ten seconds. The countdown then reached zero as Pazu grabbed the hand of Denga.

Sokka looked as the entire hall flashed with an immense ball of light and heat. He saw the flames rush toward him as visions of his loved ones flashed in his mind, the smiles of his niece and nephews, Suki, when he first met her as a Kyoshi warrior and the taste of her lips. He saw Toph and remembered seeing her grow up from a formidable Earthbender to a loving mother. He saw Zuko, and remembered the adventure they went on to free his father and Suki from the Boiling rock Prison. He then saw Aang, and how he saw Aang become a fully realized Avatar and save the world. Finally Sokka saw the face of his sister Katara, Who had always been there to take care of him since their mother died. Even as an old man she continued to fuss after him, making sure he took time to rest and eat healthy. It was a painful regret he felt when he realized he would never be able to say good bye to her. It was the last thing Sokka thought of as the flames vaporized him.

The flames of the explosion shot through and devastated the old base; they quickly rose up through the hole and incinerated the remaining party members still trying to escape. Pazu , as an experienced Firebender as he was too late in using his Firebending to wave off the flames. The blast wave caught him and Denga as she was halfway out of the hole. The searing heat of the blast wave propelled them out of hole and threw Pazu into the far wall snapping his neck, he fell to the ground in a limp pile as Hiroshi covered his eyes and face from the flames.

The heat singed parts of Hiroshi's hair and clothes; He blinked as he could hear himself still breathing. It was a clear indication to him that he was still alive. His mind tried to process what just happened as his body reeled from the emotional shock. To his right he could hear pain soaked sobs, he looked to see Denga lying on her side as parts of here smoldered from the blast. Hiroshi gulped as he crawled to where she was. When he got to her he turned her on her back and winced at what he saw. Gone were the warm smiles and soft brown skin of Denga, as half of her face was blackened and burned. The stench of her charred flesh sickened Hrioshi and he bit down to keep from vomiting. Half her body was covered in burns as some of her blue coat was fused to her skin. Nearly her entire right side was covered in burns from the top of her head to her arm and hand down to her side. Her legs lay in a twisted, broken and burnt.

"w—water!..." She sobbed as she struggled to draw in air.

Hiroshi nodded as he took out his water skin and laid it next to her. The Waterbender raised her hands and tried to Waterbend the water from the skin. He knew she was trying to use what water was left to heal herself. She tried in vain to control the water but her ruined right hand man it impossible to control the water. The glob of water shook and glowed only a little before her strength gave out and it splashed on her. She cried out in pain as the water touched the exposed nerve endings causing her to cry out in pain. Hiroshi held her left hand; it was one of the few places that didn't suffer a burn. He knew deep down she wasn't long for this world and the only thing he could do was make sure she didn't die alone.

"H-Hiroshi." She whispered " T-tell my children what happened to me and that their mommy loved them, I don't want them to think I left them on purpose…"

"Y-Yeah sure, anything!" Hiroshi promised.

Denga gulped as it her breathing worsened. " W-we only went down there with the best intentions…."

"I-I want to go home…" She whispered as she fell silent. Hiroshi watched as the light left her eyes.

"Hiroshi" CAIN called out from the satchel.

Hiroshi turned and opened the bag to expose CAIN to the light.

The AI sphere for the first time was close enough to the surface to try and communicate with its satellites in low orbit over the Earth. In seconds it soon learned that out of the many satellites NORAD had in control of, only one was still operational. Still it would be more than enough to feed CAIN the information he needed to learn But first CAIN knew it had to comfort Hiroshi , as he knew the boy would be feeling a huge amount of guilt. Something that may impede in what CAIN would need if he aimed to use the boy in its plans.

"I know this may come as some small comfort to you, but thank you for freeing me. Mourn not for your friends Hiroshi. Together we won't let their deaths be in vain. I promise I'll help you make your world better." CAIN assured the boy.

"B-But they all died." Hiroshi said sadly.

"Hiroshi, "CAIN said "Great things cannot come without _**small sacrifices…"**_

**Three years later eighteen year old Hiroshi Sato received the investments he needed to start up Future Industries. The Satomobile became the leading innovation for travel around the world…**

** NEXT TIME: The story picks up in the current storytime for Legend of Korra. It is the aftermath of the defeat of Amon and the Equalists and Asami Sato struggles to keep Future Industries afloat, As Korra and Mako are called to investigate a series of break ins at various factories in Republic City that point to a reemergence of an old enemy. When a frantic call from Asami, soon leads to an event that will rock Team Korra and Republic City to its core.**

** A/N: **_**This chapter took me a bit to get out as it served as the main chapter to truly set up the events that will come. I aim to use several themes in the chapters to come. This is the first story where I have extensively studied to make the plot solid as much as I can .I will explain more as to how our world and the world of Korra are tied together. Thank you all to have read it and commented on it. A special thanks goes to Atarah Derek for offering up the first comment. **_


	3. Chapter 3:Fire in the Sky

**The World that Was**

** Chapter 3: Fire in the sky**

_**"Something up there doesn't like us!"**_

"SO there I was, there were advancing barbarians about to close in on my position, and below me on the edge of the cliff was the rough sea and rocks so sharp they could turn you into mince meat!" Bumi said with a twinkle in his eye.

"No way Uncle Bumi! What did you do next?" Ikki asked her full attention now on her uncle.

"It's not what I did, it's what my lieutenant did next!" Bumi said " Turns out the stress of our situation was too much for and before anyone knew it….." Bumi stopped as he filled his cheeks with air and make a motion and sound like he was throwing up.

"BLUURGG!" Bumi said " Out comes the Lieutenant's lunch AND the missing bison whistle! Turns out he did eat it!"

"By the spirits…" Kya said rolling her eyes and going back to her needlework project.

Ikki,Jinora and Meelo all giggled in delight at the mental image of someone throwing up a bison whistle.

"I then took it and blew as hard as I could, and just as the enemy was about to close in on us a huge flying bison swept by and leap on to it's back and flew away!" Bumi said closing out his story.

The air of the absurdity of Bumi's story was quickly cut short as the screams of Bolin could be heard from the courtyard of Air Temple Island. They all looked to their left as they saw Bolin flying through the air and landing on a soft patch of dirt. He coughed as he tried to suck air back into his lung and only succeeded in breathing in dust and dirt.

"I'm okay! I'm okay….." He winced as he held his side.

From around the clearing of trees flew in Avatar Korra on an air scooter. She quickly arrived to Bolin's side and gingerly landed on the ground as she hopped off her air scooter.

"Bolin! I'm so sorry!" She apologized as she rubbed his back " I'm still a little new to this Airbending power!"

Bolin flopped to his side and looked up at the clear blue sky , He knew it was an endurance to train with Korra , but she needed to practice her bending to become an efficient Avatar. He knew it was his duty to help her as he was in that position. Still the bruises didn't help any.

"Do you think you could find my spleen? " He asked " I think it fell out around here somewhere…"

**Future industries**

Asami Sato rubbed her temples as the last of the board members filed out of her father's office which was now her office. Since taking over Future Industries now that her father was in prison, Asami did the very best she could to keep things running smoothly at the plant. It was a task that was growing harder by the day. Since the fallout with the Equalists , no company wanted to sulley their hands with a business that wanted to wipe out a 1/3 of the population. She was losing partners by the day and she knew something had to be done fast or else the only thing she had left her name,would die.

Asami stood up and walked to the bar that sat in the corner of the room, Reaching for the bottle of fine liquor she poured it into a tumbler. She knew her father would often take in a drink to take the edge off. She found herself with a lot of edges that needed to be curtailed of late. She swallowed the blue liquid as it burned going down. She took both the bottle and tumbler in hand and went back to her desk to go over the recent figures presented to her. It was more of the same on how the company had to keep cutting back on expenses in order to keep the business afloat. As if dropping buy rates weren't her biggest problem , Asami had to contend with the reports of various break ins at several of her warehouses. The crimes were petty, Whoever broke in only let the place in shambles. If anything was taken it was electronic components that weren't worth very much. Still it was enough to make the board nervous and strong arm Asami to make improvements to security. Which she hoped having a friend in the Republic City police force would help.

Thoughts of Mako and Korra cascaded in her mind as she went back to her desk carrying the bottle and glass. Her head swam as the liquor hit her late, she made it back to her chair and she dropped the bottle and tumbler on the desk. She slunk back in her seat just in time to see the tumble roll on it's side and fall off her desk. Asami sighed as she got down and reached for the glass that had slid far out of her reach. With a final push forward she reached the glass, but then a curious loud click resonated in her ears. She then heard what sounded like a mechanism working just before her.

"What is that noise?" She thought to herself as she look to where the sound was coming from.

Peeking from above the desk she could see the large carpet before her began to sink down into the ground. As she approached the sink hole the sound stopped. She pulled the carpet back and gasped as she saw a staircase that led down to a dark hole.

Asami gulped as her mind searched for any memory that might give her a clue as to why her father had a secret staircase in his study. She steadied her breathing as she ventured down the staircase and into the darkness. As she descended downwards she could see a tiny pinpoint of lights that gradually grew larger as she got closer. She saw the staircase led to an opening that opened up to a larg hallway.

"This place is cold and damp." She thought as the hallway was dimly lit by a strange glowing rock embedded in the wall. She could see the walls were damp and hear various drops of water falling from the ceiling. The hallway led to only one door , as Asami got closer she could see the light grow brighter from around the door frame. She had never seen this door before in her life, much less what lay beyond that door. She opened and gasped at what she saw.

**Chao Zu Prison**

** South of Republic city**

** Three weeks ago...**

Hiroshi Sato shuffled his feet as he was led to the anterior room of the prison. He was rustled awake at four in the morning, he didn't need to ask who had summoned him. He walked into the empty visiting rooms. He picked the past seat and sat across from the figure who sat in the shadows from behind the pane of glass. Hiroshi, dressed in his grey prison jump suit, took the hand held speaker phone and raised the hearing piece to his ear.

"General Tang,"hiroshi greeted " I assume the council has heard my proposal."

"We have, and even I am in agreement that we are accepting if anything to meet your friend who you say has guided you all these years."

"He will help, I assure you."Hiroshi said " Even if I am here ,I know a way we can persuade his help."

"And this weapon you speak of, Is there more you can tell us?" Tang asked.

"Only that it will change the world as we know it, once it's used." Sato replied.

"if this weapon is so incredible as you say, Why was it never brought to Amon?"

Hiroshi sucked in a huge breath " Because Amon while dedicated in his beliefs, had no sense of control. I feared he would level the world to make a point. "

"But his extremism died with him"Tang reminded him.

"True , you could kill the man, but not the idea. And an idea is hard to kill." Sato said with a sly grin.

"So what is your suggestion to proceed?" tang asked

"it's simple while I am here you can still access my friend who is in my private study at my mansion. "Sato explained " but this is important, you will need to follow this to the letter. You have to bring my daughter to my hidden study. You will need her hand print to awaken my friend. Once that happens look to the sky. You will see a signal, then come see me."

General Tang nodded at the odd requests," what if she wont comply?"

"Then you must make her comply, and you have my permission to use any means necessary. My daughter has to learn to live with the consequences of her decisions." Hiroshi said with a cold demeanor.

**Republic city**

** south side docks.**

"We've been through this area several times already, just what are we looking for?" Korra asked impatiently.

"Any type of clues we can find to see who has been breaking into future industries warehouses." mako replied as he looked around the warehouse.

The warehouse itself was one of many warehouses and supply depots hit in the past week. If anything was taken they were petty items, most equipment that would not be missed. Still the frequency of these break ins alarmed Asami . So much she pleaded for Mako to look into it for her, She had relied on the Police too much and time and time again they turned up nothing. Asami at her wits end called on the one person she knew she cold trust on the Police force, her ex boyfriend Mako.

"I know your bored Korra, but just hang on a little while longer, and I promise we'll go get you some southern style noodles."

Korra smiled a little at that comment, she knew it wasn't easy to be the boyfriend of the Avatar. Still Mako pulled through like a champ, he tried his best to still find time for the both of them to be together. Since joining the police force, Mako was considerably busy training and working as a beat cop. Korra herself spent much of her time on Air Temple Island learning her airbending training. Just a couple months ago they dealt with the Equalist threat to republic city. It was a campaign of terror led by Amon, the charismatic leader who turned out to be a waterbender from the Northern water tribe.

Using a specialized version of bloodbending,Amon tried to unite all non benders in removing the perceived threat of benders, he did this through fear and intimidation. He used his bloodbending however to block the chi paths of benders to take away their bending. Only after the final battle at the Pro-Bending arena was Amon shown to be a waterbender and not the leader empowered by the spirits as he claimed. Amon however escaped and last last seen speeding away in a powerboat, never to be seen again.

"As much as I would love to Mako, I have to be back at Air Temple Island ,more air bender training from Tenzin." Korra said remorsefully.

Mako stopped and looked at Korra " Oh, ok , "He said slowly

Korra knew that look all too well. She moved closer to him and place her hand on his face softly.

"Hey don't be that way," She purred " We can have a make up date later in the week. "

She smiled and kissed him softly and gently.

"You always did know how to make me feel better." Mako said as he broke away from her lips."Give my love to the kids."

Korra smiled as she mounted Naga and rode away.

**Sato mansion**

Asami was speechless as she looked at the room she was now in, It was small but was lined from wall to wall with glass screens, but on these screens were various images of different rooms in the mansion. She could see the servants moving around about the house. She also saw images from around the grounds. On the other side of the glass screens were images of various points around Republic city, She could see the insides of a could warehouses, to the inside of the Probending arena and finally two images that she recognized as Air Temple Island. She could see Jinora,Ikki and Meelo playing air ball in the courtyard.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" she heard a voice behind her call out

She looked around to see she was still alone in the room.

"Who's there?" She called out

"your looking right at me Asami..." the voice said as Asami looked at the round white sphere with the red glowing eye looking at her.

"What are you?" Asami asked."And how do you know my name?"

"I've watched you grow up Asami, I'm not surprised you father never mentioned me, My name is CAIN." It said in a soft and reassuring tone.

Asami gulped as she was torn on whether or not to run from the room, She had no idea what kind of technology was down here, or why this metal object could talk to her like a normal person.

"So how do you know my father?" Asami asked cautiously

"I helped you father develop most of the ideas and inventions he claimed. "CAIN said " And I'd like to say Asami, You have my deepest condolences on the loss of your mother."

Asami blinked, this object had knowledge of her and her family, as nonthreatening as he appeared to be, she had to remain cautious.

"What are you?"Asami asked "You never answered that."

"and I'm afraid I can't as there are men on their way here and by my estimation they will be here in under two minuets." CAIN said simply.

Asami looked at the door and could hear footsteps approaching. She looked to see if the room had a back door she could escape to.

"Does this place have a back door?" She asked aloud

"I'm sorry Asami but there isnt, the men coming will not harm you so long as you are complaint." CAIN said the severity of his words sinking into Asami's mind.

"Can you at least lock the door!?" Asami shouted.

"i'm sorry Asami, I can't do that..." CAIN said in an even colder tone.

"Can't or Won't!?" Asami growled as she shoved a chair against the door.

"Take your pick..."

Korra moved her arms in a rhythmic pattern as various gusts of air swirled around her. Airbending was now becoming easier for her by the day, Still Tenzin was not satisfied. There was still the matter of Korra's lack of Spiritual sense. He could not help but think if Korra stayed on this path of paying little attention to her spiritual needs, that it may one day come back to bite her. Tenzin watched as Korra practiced her Airbending mantras with his children. He looked back down at his scroll, He was carefully planning a trip for Korra and his family to visit all four Air Nomad temples. He felt a visit would do good for Korra in her avatar training and forhis kids to learn more about their people's history.

"Still working on the trip planning ?"Tenzin heard his wife Pema call to him

He looked up to see his wife with their newborn son Rohan, She had his swaddled close to his chest and she sat next to her husband.

"Yes, " Tenzin said " I'm thinking we visited the Eastern Air temple first and then make our way north!"

Pema chuckled " That sounds nice except aren't you forgetting something?"

Tenzin thought and then gulped as he had hoped Korra had not told Pema as well, But from the look of his wife's face he knew she knew.

"I...I don't know..." Tenzin stuttered

"Tenzin I don't see anything wrong with going to the Glacier Spirits festivle. In fact I think it will be fun!" Pema persuaded.

"Hrm..." Tenzin said quietly as he considered the proposal.

"Korra's been wanting to take the kids for some time now, and It's another opportunity for the children to see their Grandmother. I know aunt Kya is planning on heading down to the south pole at dawn." Pema said she took a bag of ice from the basket she carried and put it on Bolin's chest as he lay beside them, still reeling in pain from today's sparring session.

"ohh yeah that's feels good..." He purred " Pema has a point, I know my schedule is suddenly free, I could tag along and …...you know observe the local flavor."

Tenzin sighed as he realized the deck was stacked against him.

"Ok fine, The festival is a month away I think I can fit it into the itinerary." Tenzin said as he made a note on the scroll.

Both Pema and Bolin whooped their approval but Bolin's whoop was a little more than a groan.

Asami readied herself for a fight as she saw the door swing open. She immediately thrust herself into the first person sending him into the door frame. With him down she turned and sent a back elbow blow to the second man who came in. She felt the blow hit him square in the sternum. He lurched to his side as she grabbed him by the collar and readied her fist to knock him out. Asami then screamed as she felt her body stiffen with a sudden shock of electricity. She fell on her back as she looked up and saw who attacked her. They wore the same outfits she saw in her worst dreams.

"Equalists..." She grumbled as her body refused to listen to her and she lay limp on the ground.

The one who shocked her took off his Equalist mask and revealed the face of an older man with stone features. A face that had it's lines of wrinkles cause by numerous battles. He also had amber eyes, reminiscent of a fire nation citizen. He knelt down and caressed Asami's hair and face.

"i have to say Asami, it's nice you did half the work for us!, would have never have figured you haven't discovered this place before!"

Asami rudely grunted as she struggled to find the strength to get up.

"Oh shh, shh..." he comforted " Don't worry we'll take it from here. My name is General Tang by the way. I am an associate of your father and the late Amon."

He looked to his two men who were standing up behind him." Get her up and get her to the computer."

"I promise you Asami, you do what we say and you wont have to worry about us having to get rough with you. "general tang said as his men put Asami's limp body in a chair and wheel her to where CAIN was situated.

"CAIN, I am speaking on Hiroshi's behalf, "Tang said " He wishes you to begin protocol 19 ,He said you would know what to do."

CAIN waited a while before speaking. "where is Hiroshi, Why haven't I heard from him in a long time?"

"Hiroshi is currently in prison, but rest assured, he will be freed soon. Still he wishes you to start Protocol 19 while he is still in prison, that was he can claim plausible denialbility."

CAIN again paused before speaking " Very Well I will need a bio print of a Sato before I can proceed."

Tang nodded as he motioned for one of his men to take Asami's hand and place it on the glass plate on the console.

"Stop..."Asami said quietly and she felt the warmth against her palm.

"We need your palm Asami, because you are the only Sato available right now that CAIN will recognize.

"Bio print accepted," CAIN replied " Protocol 19 will comment in t-min ten minuets."

"What did you do!?" Asami said her strength gradually returning to her.

Tang looked at the computer screen to see a map of Republic City and a tiny blip blink on a point just north of the city in the canyons .

"We have to go to that location!" tang ordered, " The world has just changed as we know it! " He said excitedly.

He then ordered his men to carry Asami as they exited the underground chamber.

Little did anyone on the Earth know or were aware that high above in low orbit a relic from days past circled the globe. It soon received a signal it had not heard in centuries. It was often viewed through telescopes and no one not even the top scholars could tell what it was. It shone brightly against the rays of the sun. If the astronomers could look at it closely, they would see it was not a star, or a meteor, or even a pearl from Princess Yue's necklace as so the legends told.

They would see it was made of pure metal, and it was a construct of man, In another time it was called a Satellite, And the satellite awoke as it received an order to position itself just above the planet. The massive Satellite then called forth three other smaller satellites and locked them into a synchronous orbit. The larger satellite them began to draw off the energy of the three, sucking out every bit of energy stored in their solar batteries. The process itself only took a few minuets, It released the three as they floated off in a dead orbit.

Now that it was fully primed ,the war satellite then extended it's orbital cannon, with a final recheck of it's target it then let loose a massive bolt of energy at the planets surface.

It was a peaceful day in Republic city, it was the kind of day you could walk out in the perfect blue sky and feel the warm sun on your face. Many citizens went about their normal day as if nothing in the world could go wrong, but on this day the people of republic City would always retell and remember where they were when it happened.

Pema had just called the children in for lunch as they sat outside and ate by the trees of Air temple Island. Korra and Bolin both joked about Mako and his current job as a cop. Then the peace of the day was shattered as from the sky a massive bolt of light screamed down from the heavens and stabbed into the earth. Ikki covered her eyes and screamed as the bright flash illuminated the sky. Before anyone could registered what was happening, the ground around them began to shake are a loud rumble filled the air.

"What is that!?" Korra yelled as she instinctively grabbed Meelo to shield him. As soon as the beam appeared it disappeared.

"Wow, Something up there doesn't like us!" Bolin exclaimed as a second bolt fired from the heavens and again tore into the earth.

"Ok what in the name of the spirits is going on!?" Tenzin exclaimed as he saw the bright beam of light dissipate and the rumble of the earth stop.

Jinora held on to Ikki who was sobbing at the light of recent events.

"We need to go investigate wherever that beam hit!" korra announced.

"Im with you Korra!" bolin said rising from his sitting position.

"Kya, can you please stay with Pema and the kids?" Tenzin asked

"Yes yes of course!" Kya replied.

"I'm going too little brother!" Bumi stated

"Tenzin! Be careful!" Pema warned as Tenzin nodded and took off to mount Oogi.

Within moments Tenzin,Korra,Bumi,and Bolin all flew off on Oogi. It was easy to navigate where they were going, they simply followed the massive plume of smoke that laid a path for them. It originated from the valleys that led to Republic City. Thankfully republic City was not affected by the blasts, but what lay in the valleys was. From the air it could be seen what the beam of energy cut into the earth. It was a hexagonal trench, and the second blast cut deep into the earth. A massive and deep hole was now cut into the earth and at the end of this hole, was a metallic door to a bunker long forgotten. On the other side of the door in the bunker, lights gradually began to flicker awake as the illumination gave way to a large room filled with electronic components. Connected by a slender hallway was a second larger room, it too began to come alive with lights and beeps. From the far end of the room a panel in the wall slid open and from within the wall a large silver and black coffin slid free from the confines of the wall. The inside of the glass was frosted over, but if you looked hard enough you could see a single shape lying in a perfect sleep. The blue lights that decorated then inside and outside of the coffin suddenly turned green. This was soon followed by a heartbeat now restarting.

_**It was time to wake up...**_

_**NEXT TIME: Of all the lost artifacts pulled from the ground, this will have the most impact in the world of Korra, Everything the world is, everything people thought they knew will be forever changed. A survivor will rise, and the world will never be the same.**_


End file.
